Now that we all know that Danny Worsnop is moving on from Asking Alexandria, we're all wondering, just who will be taking his place? Read below to see what we think on the situation.
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Upon This Dawning are not a new band in the music scene. Hailing from Verona, Italy; they formed in 2006 and have already released an EP and one studio album. They’re also featured on the newest Punk Goes Pop Volume 5 compilation album with the cover of Carly Rae Jespen’s “Call Me Maybe”. After releasing their single ‘Of Human Action’ in 2011, many people were anticipating what they were preparing to come out with next. Following up their singles is the arrival of their second full length titled, “To Keep Us Safe”.
Upon This Dawning are what I like to call a pop metal band, following the typical formula: “screamed” verse, clean vocalized chorus, back to a “screamed” verse, rinse repeat until finished. Their first track, “A New Beginning: opens with an electronic influence prelude flowing into the introduction of their screamer coupled with the main riffs and programmed violins. I’ve mentioned before in previous reviews that the introduction to an album tells you what to expect from the rest a majority of the time, and Upon This Dawning are no exception to this rule.
The album is filled with songs with poppy sounding metalcore songs, which is not an attempt at insulting this album in anyway. The songs are simply catchy for a genre like metal. The use of conventional piano sounds by their synth/key player add in some great parts to this album. An example found in what is the strongest song on the record, ‘Of Human Action’ used to transition into a breakdown. Another in “The Sound of Your Breath” with some sort of mystical synth tone I’d imagine hearing in The Twilight Zone.
Production quality of this album is as good as any other of the genre and scene. The screamer has a powerful voice, the clean vocalist albeit a bit whiny also adds a good quality voice to their music. Guitars sound good, but don’t bring about a lot of innovation which is rather disappointing. Drums of course are of high quality, so you won’t have to worry about this album sounding scratchy or muffled in your headphones or speakers.
To Keep Us Safe is one of those albums that don’t bring anything new to the table, but take what was made before, recycle it, and make it their own. I can’t say that the album is bad in any way, it’s certainly listenable, and sounds good, but it’s definitely not a genre innovator, and in my opinion, artists should strive to bring something unique and different to the game. I know I’ve definitely heard this before just in other bands like Make Me Famous, or That’s Outrageous!. To Keep Us Safe is a decent metalcore release and if you’re the type of person to like hearing what the newest thing of that genre is, this is for you.
Breakdown, followed by techno, followed by another breakdown, followed by a clean chorus and another techno interlude, and finally end with a clean chorus. This seems to be what’s liked by the major (non pop) music scene lately, and Make Me Famous certainly do not hesitate in incorporating this formula or similar instances of it into their music.
Make Me Famous are an international band from the Ukraine, having recently released their debut album entitled: It’s Now Or Never. Objectively, the album isn’t a bad one, it’s not a good one either. It’s a safety net album. The production is good on all aspects, guitars, drums, vocals are all of good quality. This album was clearly made to appeal to a mass audience. Subjectively on the other hand, I am not impressed at all with this album. Being a guitarist, I find myself writing out riffs or parts to a song, and then looking back and thinking “It’s not good enough, it could be better”. It seems that the boys in Make Me Famous don’t share that same thought with me. Most songs revolve around constant use of open notes and breakdowns, with the occasional deviation into a couple other chords for a chorus. There are occasional songs like “I Am A Traitor, No One Does Care” that does make use of a lead, which is honestly something that’s nice to hear. Their most “technical” song on the album titled “This Song Is Blacker Than BLack Metal”, is most, definitely not blacker than black metal, an obvious joke I can tell, but a bad one at that.
I have to say however, there are two songs on the album that I greatly enjoy. “In The Shadows of You”, a slower paced song that makes use of a pretty decent sounding solo. It mainly lacks vocals, until near the end where there is a ‘chanty’ chorus going on. The second titled “She Hunted Me”, also because it breaks away from their “breakdown” norm, which offers a breath of fresh air on the album. There is also a gratuitous use of techno, that just doesn’t seem necessary to me, I’d honestly like to hear more riffs in place of it. Speaking of techno there are some parts where it just seems awkward to be incorporated in, going from an angrier riff into a happy quick techno verse. An example of this is in “Quit Sleeping! It’s Nothing But A Waste of Time”. While the techno that accompanies the song in the beginning is pretty good, complimenting it, the random break from everything into a “sing along” style verse just doesn’t work well at all.
Hopefully the guys in Make Me Famous will do something different in the future, much different; because honestly this album just was not impressive by any amount. As I said, this album in my opinion, was a complete safety net album. There wasn’t really any exploration or experimentation, just something to appeal to what is currently a fad. To me, they’re just another Asking Alexandria or I See Stars, and the music ‘scene’ has enough of those bands right now. On a final note, this album is definitely listenable, but has clearly been done before. I have no doubt people will enjoy it, it’s just sadly the same music but with new faces.
6/10
-Christian
“The All Stars Tour,” a power-packed super tour has been rumored to release a full lineup announcement soon. Suicide Silence and I See Stars have been the only official bands announced thus far. Below is the official lineup for this years “All Stars Tour.”
Headbang Battle Winner
At The Skylines
For The Fallen Dreams
Obey The Brave
Make Me Famous
Betraying The Martyrs
Stray From The Path
Attila
Stick To Your Guns
Winds Of Plague
A Skylit Drive
I See Stars
Unearth
The Word Alive
Suicide Silence
From a reliable source:
Silverstein are headlining with I See Stars, Stick To Your Guns, and Make Me Famous as support slots. Stray From The Path is looking like a strong possibility, they said they weren’t sure yet and still trying to decide their summer.
Resurgent metal powerhouse MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE is pleased to unleash a new lyric video for “On Wings of Integrity Pt. 2,” the first single off the band’s self-titled album, available online and in stores everywhere March 13 via Solid State Records.
A chugging, monolithic shout-along, the standout track is a powerful glimpse into MCMB’s new, refined sound. “Pt. 2” is an added treat for longtime fans, who will recognize it as a companion to crowd favorite “On Wings of Integrity,” which appeared on the band’s 2008 debut album.
Listen to ‘On Wings of Integrity Pt. 2’ Here:
“Not only is ‘On Wings of Integrity Pt. 1’ one of our favorite songs to play live, it’s one of our fans’ favorites too!” says singer Matthew Hasting. “We thought, what better song to showcase than the brother of one of our signature songs. ’Part 2’ best represents our mission statements as a band - positivity, truth, and hope in this dark world!”
As momentum builds towards the March 13 release of MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE, the band will be holding a series of interactive fan events, beginning with a live video chat this Monday, February 13. At 7 p.m. EST fans can chat live with band members, who will answer all of their burning questions.
MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE live chat 2/13 at Yowie:
For MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE, the self-titled album represents a new chapter for the band, and stamps the advent of a refined sound the members have been chasing since MCMB's inception. ”That's exactly what this album is, a new beginning,” says guitarist Robert Bloomfield. “I really do feel we found our sound. It's definitely MCMB still, but with this new flare that we've all loved and understood but never figured out a way to translate it to our music. I feel like everything we've done as a band all comes together in this one record. It's the best album in our career so far.”
Recorded with esteemed producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Shadows Fall), MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE finds the band reaching deep mentally and emotionally for what is without a doubt their crowning achievement thus far, a hard-hitting, experimental, cinematic opus that will set a fire in the hearts of old and new fans alike. With a no-holds-barred approach to programming and effects, and good, old-fashioned brutal riffage - not to mention a new level of dynamics from frontman Matthew Hasting - MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE have boldly redefined themselves for this new chapter of their career.
In celebration of the release, the band will be setting sail on a two-month trek alongside FOR TODAY, A SKYLIT DRIVE, STICK TO YOUR GUNS and MAKE ME FAMOUS that includes dozens of stops throughout the U.S. and Canada, culminating in a spot at the infamous New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Worcester, MA.